Jason Howard Green

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Another Victim of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Jene Newsome, an airman of the U.S. Airforce, has been terminated from her duties. She is now just another statistic in the long line of victims of the discriminative Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy which is ruining the careers of many gay and lesbian military personell. What is ironic and unique and Newsome's situation is that the military did not ask. The fact that she is lesbian was disclosed to the Airforce by the police officers of the Rapid City, South Dakota police department. And now, according to the Advocate, Newsome is filing a lawsuit against the police department for invasion of privacy.

The police apparently entered the home of Newsome with a warrent for the arrest of her partner on theft charges. While searching through their home they found the marriage license of the two. Newsome and her partner had visited Iowa and gotten married after the state became the fifth one in the country to allow same-gender couples to legally do so.

The police officers took it upon themselves to then contact the Airforce and disclose the fact that Newsome was a lesbian and that she had married her partner. Now I don't know about you but I want to know how that falls into the realm of "due process." And now the chief of the police department is defending his men by saying they were well within their rights by contacting the Airforce and sharing this information.

Actions like this one against Newsome are discriminative and they target the LGBT community. And it looks like were just supposed to lie down and take this abuse. Well I'm thankful that Newsome is taking action. When will this country wake up and grant us the rights we deserve? When will we earn our equality? I'm still hopeful that it will happen under this administration but my hope fades a little more each day. My prayers are with Newsome and her partner. I hope their is some kind of positive outcome that results from this aweful mess.

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Just Me . . .

About Me

Black and gay. Geek and Greek (Phi Beta Sigma). Spirtual but not judgemental. Optimist but a realist. Writer and activist. I am the author of The ABCs of Coming Out. Also I am the founder of UGIMA (United Gay Informed Men of African-descent).